公共信息官:我们是“不小心”Sending the Wrong Message?

埃德·鲁克里格尔（Ed Ruckriegel）和丹妮丝·德塞里奥（Denise Deserio）

In most fire departments, a public information officer is responsible for telling the department’s story to the media and, ultimately, the community. In most cases, the media and community listen with interest to what is being said. However, the words we use to tell our story are as important as, if not more important than, what we are trying to say.

火灾调查报告和新闻稿使用这些单词“无意”and“偶然”描述几乎所有火灾的原因。这样的话不会激起情绪，也不归咎于责备。这y are compassionate toward the person or persons who just experienced the losses of a fire. But, are they the words we should be using when addressing the public?

当消防部门使用“无意”和“偶然的词语”，，，，” it cultivates the notion that fires just seem to happen and that there is not much a community can do about unwanted fires. This is不是我们想向公众传达的信息。消防部门必须努力改变对忽视大火的看法。
当写下像火与火一样严重的事情时，我们必须既敏感又直接。我们必须完全理解我们在媒体中使用的单词的字面和感知​​信息发行。当粗心使用蜡烛会引起大火时，这是“事故”吗？还是是人为发生的事件？这是无意的，但要变得非常直率，这是不考虑人类行为的结果吗？“疏忽”也是一个适用的词。完全无视生命和财产怎么样？
根据Merriam-Webster在线，，，，“accident” means “1 a ：an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstanceb ：缺乏意图或必要性：Chance
2 a ：不幸的事件，尤其是由于粗心或无知而导致的事件……C ：an unexpected happening causing loss or injury which is not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured but for which legal relief may be sought …”
当一个年轻人吃太多酒精时，将汉堡包放在煎锅上高火，继续在沙发上昏倒，然后在厨房爆发大火，它不是偶然的，不可预见的或意外的。这种情况是可预测的和可预防的。因此，根据定义，这不是“偶然”。在熄灭所有屁股之前，在床上吸烟或将烟灰缸倾倒在垃圾桶中，都有可预见的后果，这意味着不会偶然发生火灾。
由某人造成的阁楼大火在房屋的屋檐下使用烤架是unplanned但不是意外。房主当然没有intend在他的家中引起大火，但他的行为无知和粗心。房主显然有过错。
完成调查报告或编译新闻稿时，请考虑使用最能支持消防任务的单词。选择用形容词讲述准确故事的单词，使其非常清楚大火是可以预见的，可以预防的。使用词典或同义词库找到适合这种情况的词。将粗心吸烟引起的火描述为“a reckless act by a person smoking a cigarette”personalizes the act and places blame as appropriate, reinforcing the fact that the fire was preventable. Perhaps describing the person who caused the kitchen fire as “thoughtless” or “absentminded” will change perceptions about putting food on the stove and leaving the food unattended.
If we want to change perceptions about fires and have people view fire as something that is preventable, we need to personalize the cause and place blame when appropriate. For example, law enforcement and activist campaigns have changed perceptions about operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs by assigning blame to the vehicle operator. In mostdriving under the influence (DUI) cases resulting in accidents and injuries to others, the driver did not故意地hit the victim, but the deliberate disregard for the safety of others allows for severe penalties, and public perception readily recognizes the incident as completely preventable, with fault clearly placed on the impaired driver.尽管缺乏伤害任何人的意图，但有意识地参与这种鲁ck行为的决定意味着这是意图。Perhaps we can use the law enforcement approach to change perceptions. Fire service press releases would end with phrases such as “The tenant was issued a citation for inattentive cooking” or “A fine was imposed for irresponsible smoking.”
Say what you mean, and mean what you say. We in the fire service need to take responsibility for our message, wording it in such a way as to challenge and enlighten public perception.如何你说这很重要什么you say.
Denise DeSerio is an administrative clerk for the City of Madison (WI) Fire Department, providing administrative support services for the command staff and fire prevention for the past 10 years.

自1979年以来，埃德·鲁克里格尔（Ed Ruckriegel）一直是肯塔基州的志愿消防员。他于1990年加入麦迪逊（WI）消防局，担任消防工程师，并管理该部门的防火服务。他于1994年晋升为消防元帅。此前，他曾是拉斯维加斯（NV）消防局的助理消防工程师。他拥有东肯塔基大学的理学学士学位。

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